Maputo — Alpha Oumar Konare, 57, the former president of Mali, has been elected the new chairperson of the African Union Commission.
Konare was elected with 35 of the 45 votes cast. Six AU member countries voted against him, four abstained. He should begin a four-year term as the head of the AU secretariat from September, when he takes over from the outgoing interim chairperson, former Ivorian foreign minister, Amara Essy.
The withdrawal of Essys candidacy by the government of Cote dIvoire on the eve of the summit, opened the way for Konare to be appointed with any political tussle. The two were the only applicants for the job of Africas top diplomat.
Konare governed Mali as a democratically elected head of state for two terms, from 1992 to 2002. Before becoming president, Konare was a university professor of history and archaeology.
Konares supporters praise him for being a dedicated pan-Africanist. He is also credited with finding a negotiated settlement to the Tuareg rebellion in the north.
But his detractors accuse Konare of being an idealist who dreamed about worthy but unattainable projects and goals for Mali, one of the poorest countries in Africa.
Influential African member states, including South Africa and Nigeria, are said to have favoured a former head of state as AU chief, to enhance the status of the new continental body, which replaced the Organisation of African Unity at its launch in South Africa last year.
The African Union was modelled on the European Union, whose commission chairman is the former Italian prime minister, Romano Prodi.
Konares deputy is Patrick Mazimhaka, a former special advisor to President Paul Kagame of Rwanda. Mazimhaka becomes the new deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission.
